COSTS OF FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDER IN ALBERTA, CANADA
Main Article Content
Keywords
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, cost, Alberta, Canada
Abstract
Background
Although many programs targeting fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) are implemented, the province of Alberta is still lacking information on costs of FASD.
Objectives
To estimate the costs of FASD in Alberta based on available US and Canadian research on costs of FASD, and Alberta data.
Methods
Two types of costs were estimated. The annual long-term economic cost of FASD, which referred to a projected amount of money incurred by lives of the cohort of children born with FASD each year, was estimated by multiplying the lifetime cost of caring for each child born with FASD with the number of children born with FASD each year. The annual short-term economic cost of FASD, which referred to the amount of money incurred by people who are presently living with FASD, was estimated by using a FASD cost calculator online at http://www.online-clinic.com. Both were societal costs adjusted to 2008 Canadian dollars.
Results
The annual long-term economic cost from the disorders rose from $130 to $400 million each year for the Alberta economy. The annual short-term economic cost for FASD in Alberta was from $48 to $143 million, and the daily cost for FASD in Alberta was from $105 to $316 thousand.
Conclusion
These numbers suggest a need for a provincial FASD prevention strategy. The costs of FASD can be used to evaluate the benefits of prevention programs to society.
References
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10. Abel EL, Sokol RJ. A revised conservative estimate of the incidence of FAS and its economic impact. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 1991;15(3):514- 524.
11. Harwood HJ, Fountain D, Livermore G. The Economic Costs of Alcohol and Drug Abuse in the United States, 1992. Washington, DC: National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 1998.
12. Harwood HJ, Napolitano DM. Economic implications of the fetal alcohol syndrome. Alcohol Health & Research World 1985; 10(1):38-43; 74-75.
13. Abel EL, Sokol RJ. Incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome and economic impact of FAS-related anomalies. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 1987; 19:1024-1031.
14. Rice DP, Kelman S, Miller LS, et al. 1990. The Economic Costs of Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Mental Illness: 1985. DHHS Publication No. (ADM) 90-1694. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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30. Kellerman C, Kellerman T. The five million dollar baby; 2000. Available at: http://comeover. to/FAS/EconomicsFAS.htm. Accessed on April 2, 2007.
31. Taylor A, Anielski M. The Alberta GPI accounts: crime. Report # 14. Drayton Valley, AB: Pembina Institute; 2001. Available at: http://www.pembina.org/pdf/publications/1 4_crime.pdf. Accessed on April 4, 2007.
32. Rehm J, Baliunas D, Brochu B, et al. The cost of substance abuse in Canada 2002. Canadian Center for Substance Abuse 2006. Available at: http://www.ccsa.ca/2006%20CCSA%20Do cuments/ccsa-011332-2006.pdf Accessed on March 10, 2007.
33. Kellerman T. Secondary Disabilities in FASD. Based on the Final Report from Research on Secondary Disabilities by Ann Streissguth, presented to the FAS Conference in Seattle in September of 1996. Available at http://www.comeover. to/FAS/fasconf.htm. Accessed on September 26, 2008.
34. Jacobs P, Klarenbach S, Ohinmaa A, et al. Chronic diseases in Alberta: Cost of treatment and investment in prevention. University of Alberta Department of Public Health Sciences, June 2004. Available at http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/ahln/pdfs/C hronic_Diseases_in_AB.pdf. Accessed on October 9, 2008.
2. May PA, Gossage JP. Estimating the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome: A summary. Alcohol Res Health 2001;25(3):159-67. Accessed on April 2, 2007. Available at http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh25 -3/159-167.pdf
3. Stade B, Ungar WJ, Stevens B, Beyene J, Koren G. The burden of prenatal exposure to alcohol: measurement of cost. J FAS Int 2006 Feb;4:e5. Available at: http://www.motherisk.org/JFAS_documents /JFAS_6005_e5.pdf. Accessed on April 3, 2007.
4. Health Canada. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. It's your health. Accessed on April 2, 2007. Available at: http://www.hcsc. gc.ca/iyh-vsv/alt_formats/cmcddcmc/ pdf/fasd-etcaf_e.pdf
5. Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission. Estimating the rate of FASD and FAS in Canada. Edmonton, AB:AADAC; 2004. Available at: http://corp.aadac.com/content/corporate/for _women/women_info_estimating_fasd.pdf. Accessed on April 2, 2007.
6. Evans I. A message from the Minister in Taking action on FASD, Alberta, Fall 2004. Accessed on June 10, 2008. Available at: http://www.child.alberta.ca/home/594.cfm
7. The Ministry of Alberta Children and Youth Services. Government support for FASD programs and initiatives. Accessed on June 10, 2008. Available at: http://www.child.alberta.ca/home/872.cfm
8. Stratton K, Howe CJ, Battaglia FC. Fetal alcohol syndrome: diagnosis, epidemiology, prevention, and treatment. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1996.
9. Lupton C, Burd L, Harwood R. Cost of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet 2004;127(1):42-50.
10. Abel EL, Sokol RJ. A revised conservative estimate of the incidence of FAS and its economic impact. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 1991;15(3):514- 524.
11. Harwood HJ, Fountain D, Livermore G. The Economic Costs of Alcohol and Drug Abuse in the United States, 1992. Washington, DC: National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 1998.
12. Harwood HJ, Napolitano DM. Economic implications of the fetal alcohol syndrome. Alcohol Health & Research World 1985; 10(1):38-43; 74-75.
13. Abel EL, Sokol RJ. Incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome and economic impact of FAS-related anomalies. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 1987; 19:1024-1031.
14. Rice DP, Kelman S, Miller LS, et al. 1990. The Economic Costs of Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Mental Illness: 1985. DHHS Publication No. (ADM) 90-1694. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
15. McLean C. The fetal alcohol crisis. Report Newsmagazine; Sep 25, 2000. Available at http://fathersforlife.org/health/fas.htm. Accessed on June 10, 2008
16. Streissguth AP, Barr HM, Kogan J, Bookstein FL. Understanding the occurrence of secondary disabilities in clients with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol effects (FAE). Final Report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tech. Rep. No. 96-06. Seattle, WA: University of Washington, Fetal Alcohol and Drug Unit; 1996.
17. Hawk KM. Extrapolated from 1995 figure in a letter from Kathleen M. Hawk, Director, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, to the Honorable Myron H. Bright, based on a yearly inflation rate of 4%; 1995. As cited in: Lupton C, Burd L, Harwood R. Cost of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet 2004;127(1):42-50.
18. Meyers MK, Brady HE, Seto EY. Disabled children in low income families: private costs and public consequences. Research Brief (Issue 40). San Francisco, CA: Public Policy Institute of California; 2000. Available at: http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/rb/RB_10 00MMRB.pdf. Accessed on April 3, 2007.
19. Stanage WF, Gregg JB, Massa LJ. Fetal alcohol syndrome-intrauterine child abuse. S D J Med 1983;36(10):35
20. Hutson J. A prenatal perspective on the cost of substance abuse in Canada. JFAS Int 2006;4:e9.
21. Koren G. What is the human cost of fetal alcohol syndrome? Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) Annual Clinical Meeting, Vancouver, Jun
22-27, 2006.
22. CBC. Life expectancy hits 80.4 years: Statistics Canada. Available at http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/01/14/ death-stats.html. Accessed on June 9, 2008
23. Reproductive Health Working Group. Alberta Reproductive Health: Pregnancies and Births 2006. Edmonton, AB: Alberta Health and Wellness; 2006.
24. Lupton C. The Financial Impact of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. SAMHSA FASD Center for Excellence, 200. Available at http://www.fascenter.samhsa.gov/publicatio ns/cost.cfm. Accessed on October 10, 2008.
25. Burd L, Wentz T. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: The North Dakota Experience. North Dakota Human Services Quarterly 1997, 1, 14-20. Available at http://www.onlineclinic. com. Accessed on September 30, 2008.
26. Wikipedia. Alberta, Population. Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta. Accessed on April 3, 2007.
27. Farris-Manning CF, Zandstra M. Children in care in Canada: A summary of current issues and trends with recommendations for future research. Child Welfare League of Canada; 2001. Available at: http://www.nationalchildrensalliance.com/n ca/pubs/2003/Children_in_Care_March_20 03.pdf. Accessed on April 2, 2007.
28. Adkin L. Still waiting for a child care policy: Alberta can afford a decent system for its children. Express News. University of Alberta; 2005. Available at http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/article. cfm?id=7097. Accessed on June 10, 2008.
29. Zakreski D. Fetal alcohol syndrome linked to crime. The Saskatoon Star Phoenix News. 3/10/98. In: Kellerman C, Kellerman T. The five million dollar baby; 2000. Available at: http://comeover. to/FAS/EconomicsFAS.htm. Accessed on April 2, 2007.
30. Kellerman C, Kellerman T. The five million dollar baby; 2000. Available at: http://comeover. to/FAS/EconomicsFAS.htm. Accessed on April 2, 2007.
31. Taylor A, Anielski M. The Alberta GPI accounts: crime. Report # 14. Drayton Valley, AB: Pembina Institute; 2001. Available at: http://www.pembina.org/pdf/publications/1 4_crime.pdf. Accessed on April 4, 2007.
32. Rehm J, Baliunas D, Brochu B, et al. The cost of substance abuse in Canada 2002. Canadian Center for Substance Abuse 2006. Available at: http://www.ccsa.ca/2006%20CCSA%20Do cuments/ccsa-011332-2006.pdf Accessed on March 10, 2007.
33. Kellerman T. Secondary Disabilities in FASD. Based on the Final Report from Research on Secondary Disabilities by Ann Streissguth, presented to the FAS Conference in Seattle in September of 1996. Available at http://www.comeover. to/FAS/fasconf.htm. Accessed on September 26, 2008.
34. Jacobs P, Klarenbach S, Ohinmaa A, et al. Chronic diseases in Alberta: Cost of treatment and investment in prevention. University of Alberta Department of Public Health Sciences, June 2004. Available at http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/ahln/pdfs/C hronic_Diseases_in_AB.pdf. Accessed on October 9, 2008.